Nearly 600 trees were cut down at the border: What did Dak Nong Border Guards say?

(Dan Tri) - Regarding the incident of nearly 600 forest trees along the border patrol route in Dak Nong being cut down, the Provincial Border Guard Command said that the incident occurred due to taking advantage of forest clearing.

On February 8, the Dak Nong Provincial Border Guard Command sent a document to the Dak Nong Provincial Party Committee, Dak Nong Provincial People's Committee and a number of relevant agencies regarding the results of the inspection and verification of information related to the case of 569 illegally exploited forest trees along the border patrol route managed by Bu Chap Border Guard Station.

Colonel Bui Duc Chinh, Deputy Political Commissar of the Dak Nong Provincial Border Guard Command, informed about the destruction of forest trees along the border patrol route managed by Bu Chap Border Guard Station (Photo: Uy Nguyen).

According to the Dak Nong Provincial Border Guard Command, on December 21, 2024, the Bu Chap Border Guard Station Command invited the Border Protection Forest Management Board and the Tuy Duc - Dak R'lap Inter-District Forest Protection Department to work on cutting and clearing trees on both sides of the border patrol road to ensure safety for people traveling through the area.

Here, representatives of the Border Protection Forest Management Board and the Tuy Duc - Dak R'lap Inter-District Forest Protection Department affirmed that cutting and clearing forest trees is the responsibility of the forest rangers and forest owners. Therefore, Bu Chap Border Guard Station agreed to let the above units carry out clearing and cutting trees.

Scene of deforestation (Photo: Uy Nguyen).

After that, the forest rangers and forest owners sent people and vehicles to cut and clear the trees.

On January 16, while inspecting the border patrol route in the Bu Chap Border Post area within the administrative boundary of Quang Truc commune (Tuy Duc district), the forest rangers discovered a subject driving a modified tractor to transport forest products but without relevant documents.

From the suspect's testimony, the authorities inspected and discovered many tree stumps that had been cut down, cut into pieces, and stacked along the border patrol route in the Bu Chap Border Guard Station area.

A total of 569 trees were cut down in the forest area managed by the Border Protection Forest Management Board. At the scene, there were more than 32m2 of wood and a large amount of firewood left.

The amount of wood and firewood left over from the deforestation (Photo: Uy Nguyen).

The report of the Dak Nong Provincial Border Guard Command stated that after the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development inspected and reported that the act of cutting and clearing the forest trees above showed signs of violating the law, the Bu Chap Border Guard Station coordinated with the functional forces.

All of the felled trees were located within the border patrol corridor that had been cleared to make a patrol road since 2011. The trees were regenerating and were not located within the border belt protection forest area.

Dak Nong Provincial Border Guard Command affirmed that during the tree cutting process, there were no signs of assistance, cover-up, or protection from officers and soldiers of Bu Chap Border Guard Station.

The incident is being investigated and clarified by the police.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/vu-gan-600-cay-go-bi-cat-ha-o-bien-gioi-bo-doi-bien-phong-dak-nong-noi-gi-20250208125137553.htm